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Abstract

Increased labor mobility bears large
potential benefits for human development and poverty
reduction through various channels including more
competitive global labor markets and increased efficiency in
the matching of skills supply and demand. Bank support for
enhanced and better managed migration can complement broader
efforts to reduce poverty and promote human development,
similarly to how Bank projects on trade liberalization have
helped in reducing market distortions and raise welfare.
With Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries becoming
increasingly eager to adopt a proactive approach to improve
migration outcomes, cross-sectoral Bank teams are well
positioned to respond to increasing demand for migration
management systems. Labor mobility has proven to be a
forceful driver of convergence in living standards.
Estimates suggest that gains from the liberalization of
migration could surpass welfare gains from trade
liberalization. Currently, migration represents the main
form of global and regional integration for MENA countries.
In the future, increased labor mobility could foster
regional economic integration, a recognized priority within
the Arab World Initiative (AWI).